PREMIER MEN'S CLUB CRICKET: Mentor, protege conquer crease

It can be demanding when players have to cram in first-class and premier club duties in a season.
Now if your father just happens to be the coach then chances are expectations can rise from the most unlikely quarters.
Not that Napier Old Boys' Marist coach Brendon Bracewell is a slave driver when it comes to son Doug bending his back and swinging a willow for both Napier Old Boys' Marist (NOBM) and the Central Districts Stags in the space of four days.
If you ask CD coach Dermot Reeve, he'll tell you Brendon is one of the more passionate coaches he's come across and with great work ethics to boot.
"Dougie's bowled every day for the three days for Central Districts and if Brendon had his way he would have bowled another 20 overs today at club cricket as well," Reeve told SportToday on Saturday after NOBM recorded their second outright victory on the final day of the second two-day match of the season against Central Hawke's Bay at Nelson Park, Napier.
Consequently Reeve put his hand up to nail two birds with one stone - ensure dad didn't overwork his son and give fellow CD batsman Mathew Sinclair time out with his wife and child before the Stags lock horns with the Auckland Aces at Nelson Park from tomorrow in the four-day season opener.
Reeve, a former English international in his second season for the Stags, slotted in at No.6 for NOBM. Sinclair, who played three days on the trot for CD in the warm-up game against Auckland, scored 50 runs on Friday.
"It gives him a nice day with his family so it was a swap, really - me for Sinclair, which probably made the boys from Central Hawke's Bay quite happy.
"It was interesting to try to put my view across to see if that happens or not," Reeve said after adding to an unassailable total with a 20 not out, including a six over midwicket, in a cameo appearance in more than a year of competitive cricket.
"It was nice to find the middle on a rare visit to the wicket because having being an ex-professional, you know, you are putting yourself there to be knocked down.
"A 46-year-old managed to do that so I've enjoyed the day," he said with a laugh after Doug Bracewell hit a few lusty sixes over the pavilion for his 143.
"Dougie played beautifully. It's good to see Dougie bowl and bat and be at close quarters out there," said Reeve who faced a couple of overs before NOBM declared.
Would he have liked to be there a bit longer?
"Yeah, absolutely, I was on for a hundred," he said, throwing his head back to laugh.
The CD coach couldn't help himself, often offering suggestions on how a CHB batsman was striking the ball and how to adjust field placements to claim his scalp.
"I suggested a short mid-off and a short mid-on for the left-armer and he got a catch there. It's still nice when a plan comes together and you feel your cricket brain has an input.
"I was coming off there and I was having a chat about the way the batsman was defending to the offspinner and where the silly point should stand - a couple of yards straighter for the ball that gets squeezed.
"So it's all those little things ... I can't help myself," he said after playing sweep and reverse sweep shots.
"If you're in a physical state where you can still do it slightly, it's a hell of a lot better. One of the arts of coaching is if they can actually see it as opposed to just being told that."
He didn't want to analyse his bowling except to say the enthusiasm, keenness and competitiveness are still there.
"If you would have seen me bowl it was very embarrassing. I don't think the ball got anywhere where I wanted it to go. I just told Brendon I was pretty keen," he said with a grin after the figures of four wicket-less overs for 21 runs and one no ball.
Inarguably, the day did belong to allrounder Doug Bracewell but, considering he's a man of few words and prefers to let his bat and ball do the talking, you can journalistically argue Reeve is a godsend.
* Scoreboards - page 14.